Delirium
by Hitsuiro Issa
Summary: Watanuki dreams. Might be in progress. For now, it is a one-shot. Sandman Crossover. Rated T for blood. xD


Delirium.

Summary: Watanuki dreams.

Disclaimer: I do not own xxxHolic. Or Sandman. So obviously, Watanuki and Delirium aren't mine. Just wait till I kidnap them both. 8D

I have a Mokona stuffed toy though. xP

-

Sometimes, Watanuki fears closing his eyes. The world is dark during those times, and he doesn't know how to distinguish what is real from what is not. His mind, creative and clever and well-experienced with the supernatural, always tends to fabricate tales and weave images- so much that sometimes, overwhelmed by his visions, he dares not sleep or- he dares not wake.

But exhaustion is a mighty foe, and slowly he finds himself losing once again, his eyelashes grazing softly against pallid skin. He takes a breath, gently, reveling in the intake of air- and lets go of consciousness as the darkness envelops him once more.

Colors whirl in immediately, and he wonders if he had just woken instead- but the colors are mere colors, no object, no shape. He reaches out to feel the passing of lights- red and blue and green alike seek through his fingers at contact, slithering out and flying further from his grasp- and sighs as the soundless symphony continue to marvel and keep him in awe, and yet somehow disappointed at how small he could do to alter the spectacle.

The colors are soon joined by translucent balloons that came out from nowhere at all, flying towards the direction of the colors in a minimum pace- and he tilts his head in wonder, and confusion perhaps, as more balloons rose up in the endless sky, coming in different shapes of no particular resemblance. Just shapes.

Sound came in last, enveloping him like a scream of terror and a hoard of laughter- and he kneels, clutching at his ears, all coherent thoughts erased, forgotten. He trembles at the burst of noise, the sounds piercing through his hands like knives, greatly paining him, and yet not. In dreams, one does not truly bleed- though the pain is tripled. A sob cracks from his lips, and he whimpers, and the sounds cease, the world is thrown back into a place devoid of color- and slowly he stands, wiping at the tears he hadn't noticed from his mismatched eyes, the pain dissipating like gas in the air.

He sees her, then, skipping lightly upon nothing at all, like he did. Her hair is an array of light colors- orange and yellow, pink and blue- in a flowing mess, floating and flying as if they had wings of their own. Her skin, visible through the netted mesh that covered her limbs and the skirt and open jacket, is as pallid as his own, and probably perhaps, even lighter so. What keeps his attention the most are her eyes, as mismatched as his own, yet the other isn't gold, but green. She's a little girl, yet he is sure she is a million years older than him- as old as time itself. Endless.

She sees him at last, smiling at his person, obviously delighted and wholly thrilled to find another within this abyss, and she approaches him with bright eyes. He involuntarily steps back, raising both hands to his chest, finding the right words to say- but his throat refused to emit a sound, as if it was brought along with the colors and noise that had invaded him earlier. He drops his hands to the sides, speechless, uncertain of what to do.

"Watanuki Kimihiro." Says the girl, then pauses, before giggling wildly. "April first. April fools. Wa - ta - noooooo - keeeee."

He finds his voice again, unexpectedly. "Excuse me?"

"It's such a pretty name." She says fondly, smiling at him, as if he were the child, not she; "It's like, flowers. Colors. Like-like daffodils! Do you like daffodils, Watanuki?"

He nods, attempting a smile. "Yes, they're lovely-"

"And wings! Tender wings. Feathery and light and wondrous-" She continues on as if had not said a word, spreading her arms around her. "Ooh, it reminds me of butterflies now! Hmm, butterflies. They are so elegant. Um. I wish I was a butterfly."

She stops then, her eyes drifting to a place, far, far away, deep in her thoughts. Watanuki thinks she's insane. Or confused. Or both. Whatever it is, he decides it best if he said something now while she isn't talking yet. Randomly. "Excuse me, but where are we? And who are you?"

"I am- oh, I don't have a name." She mumbles, her eyes still distant. "I wish I did, though. They call me Delirium. I wish I had a name." A pause. "Like yours."

She turns to him, and as if she had only seen him for the first time, her own pair of mismatched eyes widen. "You have beautiful eyes, Watanuki." She licks her lips, smiling again. "And your name is yummilicious on my lips. Heehee. Yummilicious is a cute word."

Watanuki finds himself sighing. Her rambling is not helping him at all- in fact, it irked him a bit. They were all so random and said thoughtlessly- and yet there was a trace of longing and spite in her sweet, innocent words, something he couldn't understand. He is sure she is a spirit- for what else can look so messed up and lovely at the same time?

He does not notice her approach him further, closing up the wide gap between them, until what was left was a breath away. She is small, smaller than his height, so he looks down whilst she, upwards. There is no fear, though, no harm. Just tension, and the slight wonder of what she planned to do now.

Her eyes are unreadable, though, and the smile is gone. The feelings rush back, and he finds himself fearing her now. She had no visible strength, that was sure- but the way her blue and green eyes swam and indulged in his own, the way her lips were slightly parted in innocent bliss, the way he couldn't read the unpredictable thoughts that ran around her head- it frightened him. She frightened him.

"Watanuki Kimihiro." She says at last, reaching up to stroke his face, her fingers brushing lightly underneath his own mismatched eyes. "Yellow, and the other blue. I like your eyes." She hesitates before covering his right eye with the whole of her palm- the one a friend had sacrificed for him, so that he could see again- and he gasps.

She lessens the pressure of her palm on his eye, yet her fingers stretched out and framed the top of his eyelids and the lower part underneath. Realizing what she planned to do, he immediately extends a hand to grab her wrist- yet it is too late.

Pressing the weight of her hand, the fingers dig deep, causing blood to flow freely from the wound. He staggers back, unable to do anything, feeling her take hold of the whole of his eyeball, wrenching it out. It is the last thing he sees- the blood-stained hands and her contented expression, and his own golden eyeball clenched tightly beneath her fingers- before he passes out.

"I've gone-" he pants, back in the waking world. His vision is cut in half- one clear, the other darkness. It wasn't a dream. "-blind! Oh darn, I'm blind!"

He flails around, knocking away something that had been on his face only a few minutes ago, and realized he could see again. Looking down, he sees the black Mokona lying on his lap.

Normally he would have screamed himself hoarse at the little thing, but he is tired. Tired and relieved. It had only been a dream. There had been no little girl named Delirium, and she hadn't taken his eye. He reaches up to wipe away the sweat that coated his forehead- only to realize when, he pulled his hand back down, that his right eye was covered in dark, fresh blood.

In the distance, he hears her.

"Watanuki- nuki nuki, April first. Pretty eyes. Just like- like butterflies."

--

A/N: That was a short and weird thing. Really. What's got into me, you ask? I've read too much Sandman. That's it. Oh, and I'm bleeding too. Nasty wound on the hand. xDD

Delirium is, by far, my favorite. She's always with me. Delirious. Haha.

Anyway.

Just a little thing I wanted to write after reading Volumes 2 & 3 of the Sandman graphic novel and watching the first three episodes of XxxHolic: Kei. You know what? Perhaps I should die now.

Delirium: Heehee, I liked the second season. Um. Well. I guess not quite, since it was so hard to look for episodes in the internet. I enjoyed it though. Um. Yeah.

Watanuki: Any chance this will become a multi-chapter?

Hitsu: Depends. I want to write about your encounter with ALL of the Endless. I can't wait for Desire. 8D YAOI HERE WE COME.

Watanuki: ...I was concerned about my eye. Will it heal? DX

Hitsu: Hmm. Not telling. xP

R&R people. I love you all. And Watanuki shall give you hugs for it! Wahahahaha! And cookies! 8D

Watanuki: She is delirious.


End file.
